Critic's picks - Rock

David Menconi on the best rock and more

Jonah Smith's warm, soothing voice is just like water -- it slides and glides, perfectly assuming the contour of each song's groove. On "Jonah Smith" (Relix Records), this New York singer/songwriter sounds a bit like "Schoolhouse Rock" vocalist Jack Sheldon (remember "I'm Just a Bill"?) or a likable Adam Duritz, ambling through a set of 11 pop-soul gems with hooks as sturdy as the rhythms. Head to his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/jonahsmith) to hear the thoroughly irresistible "My Morning Scene," or catch Smith opening Sunday for Scrapomatic at Raleigh's Pour House (www.the-pour-house.com).

You can never have too many good guitar/drum duos around, so it's nice to have Seattle's transplanted Beloved Binge (who moved to Durham last year) in our midst. On "Other Places" (Independent Artists Alliance), the tandem of Rob Beloved and Eleni Binge play stripped-down punk rock that doesn't feel thin, combining the howling abandon of Sleater-Kinney with a very fine attention to poppy detail. The group plays Saturday with Midtown Dickens and Eberhardt at Durham's Broad Street Cafe. (www.broadstreetcafe.org)

Between last weekend's Hege V reunion and upcoming shows by the dB's and Squirrel Nut Zippers, we're in a season of renewed musical acquaintances. And here are a few more. Tonight at the Pour House, it's Apollo Heights -- featuring twin brothers Daniel and Danny Chavis, former co-leaders of early-'90s buzz band The Veldt -- opening for A Rooster for the Masses. Also back in action are Pratie Heads, the 1980s-vintage folk duo of Jane Peppler and Bob Vasile. After a few successful reunion shows, they've reunited on a permanent basis with a new album, "Rag Faire" (Sky Records). They mark the album's release with a show at Durham Friends Meeting House on Saturday.

Tonight: Catch up on a fistful of excellent local acts playing a free show at Carrboro's Cat's Cradle -- North Elementary, Schooner, Un Deux Trois, Audubon Park and The Heist and the Accomplice; Chapel Hill's Local 506 has an equally strong bill in Strugglers, Auxiliary House and Lost in the Trees; Physics of Meaning holds forth at Kings in Raleigh; and for something completely different, Harlem Gospel Choir sings at Clayton Center.

Saturday: Greatest Hits howl at Kings; The Never brings pop grandeur to Carrboro's Open Eye Cafe, while The Old Ceremony does likewise at Local 506; Deadheads craving a fix can partake of Grateful Dead tribute band Cosmic Charlie at the Cradle; and Raleigh's Hideaway BBQ has Ruthie & the Wranglers.

Furthermore: Mother's Finest is somehow still at it, Sunday at Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre with Jam Pain Society opening; quirky singer/songwriter Benjy Ferree plays Local 506 Wednesday; long tall Marcia Ball sings, plays and kicks her piano Thursday at the Carrboro ArtsCenter; rising buzz band Fall Out Boy comes to Raleigh's Disco Rodeo on Thursday; and if you'd rather stay in, this week's televised-music options include Raleigh expatriate Ryan Adams sitting in with returning '70s hitmakers America on Tuesday's "Late Show With David Letterman" and Triangle buzz band Annuals on Thursday's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."